BANGKOK, THAILAND – A routine bank visit by a long-term foreign resident highlighted how quickly plastic cards had disappeared from Thai cash machines in 2025.
From lone card user to digital outlier
On a Monday morning in a Thai bank branch, expatriate Mika inserted his blue ATM card while a short line formed at the machines. As he observed the others, he realised he was the only one using a physical card, while six people around him unlocked their phones, scanned a QR code on the ATM and collected their cash.
He later wrote in an online forum that the scene left him feeling almost outdated, noting that it was not spectacular but still impressive.
“It is nothing sensational,”
said Mika, forum user, adding that he opposed total digitalisation and wanted to use the “old card method” for as long as possible.
Cardless withdrawals become the new standard
According to the discussion, Thailand had undergone one of the fastest digital shifts in banking over the previous five years. By 2025, so‑called cardless withdrawal had moved from niche product to standard, appearing prominently in almost every major banking app from Kasikorn Bank (KBank), Bangkok Bank and SCB.
Users selected the withdrawal amount in the app, pressed the “Cardless” button at the ATM, scanned the QR code displayed and received cash within seconds, without entering a PIN on worn keypads or fearing that the machine would retain the card. For many Generation Z and millennial customers in Thailand, plastic cards had already faded into near-obsolescence.
Costs, skimming fears and hidden advantages
Forum participants pointed to pragmatic reasons for abandoning cards. Annual debit card fees at many banks ranged roughly between 200 and 500 Thai baht, while using only the app was typically free. At the same time, cardless withdrawals removed the risk of skimming on manipulated ATMs that had long troubled tourists and expatriates.
Another contributor highlighted changing fee structures for cash withdrawals across provincial borders, where so‑called inter‑region fees of 15 to 30 baht had been common. Several banks had reduced or cancelled these charges for app-based withdrawals to accelerate digital adoption, effectively making nostalgia for plastic a paid choice in a year when, as the debate noted, every baht counted.
Security paradox and dependence on one device
Supporters of app-based banking in the thread argued that smartphones could increase security. They noted that a lost physical card might be used for small contactless purchases without a PIN, whereas access to a banking app was usually protected by Face ID, fingerprints or a separate PIN code.
Sceptics such as Mika questioned scenarios involving empty batteries or internet outages, stressing that a physical card could still function when the phone did not, as long as the ATM itself remained connected. They warned that losing a phone now meant losing not only contacts but also access to the wider digital world and personal bank accounts.
When cardless access becomes a lifeline
Another forum user, writing under the name “Everyman”, described how he lost his card during the pandemic and went almost a year without replacing it.
“The cardless function saved me,”
said Everyman, forum user, portraying the feature as more than a convenience.
Participants in the discussion interpreted this experience as evidence that the system had become resilient enough to serve as a full replacement for physical cards rather than a mere add‑on. For many account holders with Thai banking apps, cardless access now functioned as an everyday default.
Queues, QR codes and social pressure
The forum also highlighted social tensions at checkouts in large supermarket chains such as Big C and Lotus’s. A user named “Quake” complained humorously about shoppers who took a long time to unlock their phones, find their banking app, log in and scan a QR code after hearing the final total.
Commenters contrasted these customers, dubbed “swipers” on smartphones, with those who slowly counted out coins or waited for small change. While both behaviours could delay the line, some wrote that technological pauses felt more irritating than familiar cash routines, even though a prepared PromptPay QR payment was now often faster than cash.
Virtual banks and a branchless future
Looking ahead, forum posts referred to plans by the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to issue the first licences for fully virtual banks in 2025 and 2026. These institutions were expected to operate without branches or proprietary ATMs, relying entirely on digital interfaces.
Participants predicted that banks would likely increase fees for issuing physical cards to push customers toward app-based services, while also presenting reduced plastic waste as an environmental benefit. However, several voices in the thread argued that underlying motives centred on data, efficiency and restructuring the banking landscape.
Tourists left at the edge of the ecosystem
While expatriates with Thai accounts were largely integrated into the digital payment system, the discussion noted that short‑term visitors faced a more mixed picture. Some early cross‑border app collaborations from countries such as South Korea or Malaysia allowed certain tourists to make QR payments in Thailand.
However, most European tourists still depended on conventional credit cards and ATMs that charged around 220 baht per withdrawal, which contributors translated to roughly six euros at an indicative rate of 1 euro to about 37.10 baht. For them, the smartphone revolution at local ATMs remained largely out of reach.
Emotional resistance amid rapid modernisation
The debate used Mika’s experience to illustrate how quickly Thailand was modernising, sometimes faster than parts of Europe. Whereas customers in Germany could still encounter scepticism when paying for bread by card, people without a phone for payment in Bangkok increasingly stood out.
Forum users listed clear advantages of the new system, including freedom from skimming, lower card fees and the convenience of a device that was almost always within reach, while acknowledging emotional reservations and technical concerns such as battery life and app stability.
Holding on to plastic, at least for backup
Contributors concluded that those clinging to cards were effectively fighting a rearguard action, even if that preference remained legitimate and personal. Some posts suggested that ATM users should be prepared to feel like outsiders when inserting plastic in a setting dominated by QR codes and screens.
An editorial note attached to the discussion advised readers to keep at least one physical card in a secure place, such as a hotel safe, as a backup in case digital systems failed. The article, based on a December 2025 thread on ASEAN NOW, cautioned that exchange rates, banking fees and technical availability in Thailand could change quickly and should be checked before relying solely on a smartphone.